I Like a Business With a Sense of Humor (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, BeThere2Day, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, the prompts are being provided by Elephant's Child. 

   

This week's prompt includes a photo:

And for those of you whose creativity is triggered by words

• destined
• remarkable
• lure
• aware
• rules 

Charlotte (MotherOwl)has selected clay brown as the colour of the month.

My client and good friend Ms. JAI, who is 87 and looks sad and worn out lately, has had a rough several months of it.

First, she has suffered from MdDS for several years.  Mal de Débarquement Syndrome makes you feel like you are out at sea, rocking on the deck of a ship, while you are on dry land.  There's no known cause, treatment or cure, and when she was younger she participated in research with the doctors trying to figure it out.

As is DESTINED to happen in this syndrome, her symptoms have gotten worse.  Her family convinced her to sell her home of over 50 years, which broke her heart but she knew it had to be done.  They wanted her in a place where caregivers could look in on her regularly, such as an apartment in an "assisted community."  

She opted for a condo in an over-55 community where she'd be able to continue to do her own thing, unlet and unhindered.  The LURE of the views from her condo, not having her style cramped and being among active and fit seniors who socialized but didn't mess in your business were much stronger than the idea of having to be in the kind of place they wanted for her with all the RULES and restrictions.

Then she started really getting dizzy and falling.  Most of the falls resulted in her hitting her head.  A few days into January, i went over to her condo to clean and she was in such pain from a fall the week before i managed to get her to call 911 so the EMTs could take her to the hospital emergency room.

Among other things, they tried to get a catheter started and couldn't.  Eventually, they sent her home from ER telling her she needed to get more help around the house, especially if she's dizzy more now.

About a week after that, she got very sick and dizzy and fell, and her alert bracelet called the emergency responders.  She'd hit her head again when she fell and this time had a UTI (urinary tract infection).  They figured her blood pressure went down when she stood too fast and that and the UTI made her sick enough to pass out and fall.

Here's the REMARKABLE part.  In all these falls and blows to the head, and even in her week in the hospital after the last fall with the UTI, not once have doctors done either an MRI or CATscan of her brain to see if she's had any damage!

They sent her off to rehab, and they haven't remarked on the lack of any check of her brain and head, either.

Every medical worker in creation should be AWARE if there is a fall and hit to the head, especially as she's had several in the past 6 months, there needs to be some kind of scan!

Anyway, this past Monday she was sprung from the rehab and sent to her condo with her daughter making arrangements to get sitters with her 24/7.

That's where i caught up with her when i went to visit on Monday.  She is parked in her favorite reclining chair, the Clay Brown one, and doesn't feel much like moving.

Yesterday, i got a call from her daughter asking me if i was free to go over there for the home health nurse visit.  Since it was my day off, i went.

It was quite an adventure.  The sitter, being new, had a lot of questions.  Daughter was on the phone most of the time the nurse was there and heard the evaluation. 

Daughter hung up to get back to work right before the sitter's supervisor came, so i had to wing it and answer questions for her, which i was mostly able to do.

MS. JAI's been dizzy, nauseated especially when standing to get in the wheelchair (she can't walk at all) and the nurse took her blood pressure sitting and standing.  When she stood up, her pressure went down by 40 points!  It's no wonder she's dizzy and falling and nauseous.  Anyone would be.

Then we realized how little food there was for Ms. JAI in the house, as she had been gone for 2 weeks and was only eating yogurt and drinking Boost.

That's how i ended up at MallMart buying groceries yesterday.

At this point, i'm just glad she has a follow up with her doctor on Friday, and her daughter will be here to take her.  She's supposed to see a neurologist, whom i'm hoping will order some kind of scan.

Either way, she's not doing so well and i'm going to be visiting weekly (the sitters do housekeeping) and helping out where i can.

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Today is:

Backward Day -- no info on the origin, but if you want to do something backward, go ahead

Eat Brussels Sprouts Day -- sauté in olive oil with some garlic, they are worth it!

Eve of Brigantia -- Ireland (St. Bridget's Eve, the night when she crosses the countryside and bestows blessings)

Feast of Great Typos -- another that no one will claim inventing, but since we've all made them, we may as well celebrate them

Feast of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

H&ll is Freezing Over Day -- internet generated day to review the list of things you said you would do when h*ll freezes over

Independence Day -- Nauru(1968)

Inspire Your Heart With the Arts Day -- begun by Rev Jayne Howard Feldman as a day to use art to feed your soul

National Brandy Alexander Day

National Bug Busting Day -- UK (this is one idea that needs export to the whole world! the aim is to have every child checked for head lice on the same day, and thus get rid of them in one fell swoop, so they don't circulate endlesslyhttp://www.national-awareness-days.com/national-bug-busting-day.html)

National Gorilla Suit Day -- Mad Magazine's Maddest Artist, Don Martin, says this is the day to pull that gorilla suit out of the closet and step out in style.

Play An Old Game You Haven’t Played in Years Night -- internet generated, and a great idea

Scotch Tape Day -- it hit the market this day in 1928

St. John Bosco's Day (Patron of apprentices, boys, editors, laborers, schoolchildren, students, young people-especially youth of Mexican descent)

Birthdays Today:

Justin Timberlake, 1981

Kerry Washington, 1977

Portia de Rossi, 1973

Minnie Driver, 1971

Kelly Lynch, 1959

Jhn Lydon, 1956

Nolan Ryan, 1947

Charlie Musselwhite, 1944

Richard Gephardt, 1941

Jessica Walter, 1941

Stuart Margolin, 1940

Queen Beatrix, 1938

suzanne Pleshette, 1937

Philip Glass, 1937

James Franciscus, 1934

Ernie Banks, 1931

Jean Simmons, 1929

Carol Channing, 1923

Norman Mailer, 1923

Mario Lanza, 1921

Jackie Robinson, 1919

Thomas Merton, 1915

Garry Moore, 1915

Tallulah Bankhead, 1903

Eddie Cantor, 1892

Zane Grey, 1872

Franz Schubert, 1797

Robert Morris, 1734

Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun of Japan, 1543

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"These Are My Children"(TV), 1949 (first daytime TV Soap Opera)

"The Green Hornet"(Radio), 1936

"The Lone Ranger"(Radio), 1933

"Three Sisters"(Chekhov Play), 1901

"Hedda Gabler"(Ibsen Play), 1891

Today in History:

Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I of England, 1606

The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital, 1747

The Corn Laws (tariffs on imported grains) are abolished in Britain, paving the way for more free trade, 1849

The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations, 1876

The Bulletin of Sydney is founded, publishes for 128 years, 1880

An automobile exceeds 100 mph (161 kph) for the first time, at Daytona Beach, driven by A. G. MacDonald, 1905

The Soviet Union exiles Leon Trotsky, 1929

Scotch tape is first marketed by the 3M Company, 1930

Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, US receives the first US Social Security monthly payment check, for $22.54, 1940

President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb, 1950

A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands, 1953

Explorer 1 – The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit, 1958

James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt, 1958

Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space, 1961

The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program, 1966

Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon, 1971

The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow, 1990

Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake, 1996

NASA reveals the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR), a lunar mining robot which could be used to produce fuel and water directly on the Moon, 2013

Sergio Matarella is elected President of Italy, 2015

"World's best chef" French-Swiss Benoît Violier is found dead after apparent suicide weeks after being named world's best by La Liste, 2016

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is crowned King of Malaysia (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) to serve a five-year term, 2019

The United Kingdom formally withdraws from the European Union, 2020

The online word puzzle sensation Wordle is bought by the New York Times, 2022

Weather, Windows and Weight, a Random and Happy Tuesday Post

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It's time once again for a random and happy Tuesday, linking up with Stacy's Random Thoughts at Stacy Uncorked and Sandee at Comedy Plus.  

Carl had already gotten out of the shower and was heading for food when i arrived, so he'd actually gotten up early.

Following him into the kitchen, he was looking at his schedules his mom prints out and saying, "Long week," pointing at one.  It was the wrong one, and i redirected him to this week's printout.

Once that was straight and i had an apron on him so he could eat, i took his keys to the car to find his lunchbox.  I found the lunchbox, and that he'd left the car window open enough someone could have reached in to open the door.

When i went in to remind him he needs to roll those windows down, he was reading online and looked up with wonder and excitement on his face.  "Scientists say time flows backward in some materials!  Not in us, we can't see it, we go one way, but in some stuff, it goes both ways!"

That was a mouthful for him, and he then buried himself in the online article.  I know when i'm defeated and simply went to pack his lunch.

This was a first, he'd made and sandwich and not used a bag.  Usually the bag is open, not totally missing.  Then i noticed the freezer was open.

He's been stuffing his cold packs in there every which way, they don't freeze flat but in odd shapes, and then he can't get more stuff in and he freezer stays open, running continuously.  It had built up an ice crust making it now impossible to shut.

Once i had his lunch made, he came in his room talking about jobs.  "There's a job here pays $25 an hour!  At a grocery!"

I asked what kind of grocery job, but he had moved on.  "These jobs pay better than mine," he was saying, and i told him right now, on the way out the door in the morning, was not the time to be job hunting.

He said, "It's cold, I need more clothes," and went to his closet.  He pulled out another short sleeve shirt and i stopped him in his tracks, grabbing a long sleeve.  Then i made him take the short sleeve shirt off, put on the long sleeve, then put the short over it and then his coat, then his work vest.  I told him by the time he was working, pushing those carts, he'd warm up with what he had on.

He looked at me.  "Exercise?  No, fitness," he said.  The muttered to himself, "What's next?"  After that, it sounded like he said, "Star wars tournament."

Heaven only knows, but he grabbed his lunch and actually left for work with plenty of time to spare for once, instead of rushing out the door.

He left me to deal with his shower curtain.

No, i don't know how he keeps getting half of the clips on backward.

Then i took care of the deodorant.

I also emptied his freezer, got the ice out, put back only the solid cold packs and food and left the rest of the cold packs on a towel in the hall to melt.  I told Ms. V later i'll start putting them in the freezer correctly a few at a time, so he'll always have some to actually fit in his cold vest.

Not that he's going to need the cold vest until the weather warm.  Best to start this process early, for all i know, he'll use them for something else.

Once done at his house, i went across the street to my other client, Mr. DS and Ms. ES, who told on Ms. V (Carl's mother).  Someone had brought these clients a king cake from one of the bakeries in NOLA where people stand in line for hours to get one.  They sent 3 pieces to Ms. V, Mr. L and Carl.

Later, the husband asked Carl how he'd liked the cake and Carl said, "Oh, my mom says I've gained too much weight so she ate my piece and hers!"

How about some funnies?

Have a blessed and beautiful Tuesday, everyone!

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Today is:

Cash Register Day -- James Ritty and John Birch were granted a patent on this day in 1883 for an early mechanical cash register

Congressional Brawl Day -- marking the first ever all out brawl in the US Congress in 1798

Draw A Dinosaur Day -- and post it to the web site   

Feast of King Charles the Martyr -- Anglican

Fred Korematsu Day -- US (honoring the civil rights activist who protested the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII) www.en.wikipedia.com/Fred_Korematsu

Inane Answering Message Day -- the day to change those annoying messages, sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

King's Birthday -- Jordan

Martyrs' Day -- India (assassination anniversary of Gandhi)

National Croissant Day

Pax -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Festival of Peace)

School Day of Nonviolence and Peace -- sponsored by DENIP

St. Aldegund's Day (Patron of cancer patients; against cancer, childhood diseases, sudden death, wounds)

St. Bathilde's Day (Patron of children, sick people, widows; against bodily ills and sickness)

St. Martina of Rome's Day (Patron of nursing mothers; Rome, Italy)

Three Archbishops' Day -- Eastern Orthodox (a/k/a Holy Hierarchs' Day)

Birthdays Today:

Johnathan Lee Iverson, 1976

Christian Bale, 1974

Brett Butler, 1958

Phil Collins, 1951

Charles Dutton, 1951

Steve Marriott, 1947

Marty Balin, 1942

Dick Cheney, 1941

Vanessa Redgrave, 1937

Boris spassky, 1937

Tammy Grimes, 1934

Louis Ruckeyser, 1933

Gene Hackman, 1930

Dorothy Malone, 1925

Dick Martin, 1922

Barbara W. Tuchman, 1912

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882

Isaiah Thomas, 1749

Thomas Rolfe, 1615 (Only child of John Rolfe and Pocahontas.)

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Yogi Bear Show"(TV), 1958

"Robert Montgomery Presents"(TV), 1950

"City Lights"(Chaplin Movie), 1931

Today in History:

The Jews of Freilburg, Germany, are massacred, 1349

King Charles I of England is beheaded, 1649

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed after having been dead for two years, 1661

The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of Oishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, 1703

Henry Greathead tests the first boat intended to be specialized as a lifeboat for rescue purposes, which he invented, on the River Tyne in England, 1790

The burned Library of Congress is reestablished, with Thomas Jefferson contributing, 1815

Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica, 1820

The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales is opened, 1826

A fire destroys two-thirds of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 1841

The city of Yerba Buena is renamed San Francisco, for the nearby mission of the same name, 1847

William Wells Brown publishes the first Black drama, "Leap to Freedom," 1858

The US Navy's first ironclad warship, the Monitor, is launched, 1862

The pneumatic hammer is patented by Charles King of Detroit, 1894

The Canadian Naval Service becomes the Royal Canadian Navy, 1911

The House of Lords rejects the Irish Home Rule Bill, 1913

"The Lone Ranger" begins a 21 year run on ABC radio, 1933

Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Pandit Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist, 1948

American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1956

The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police, 1969

Carole King's Tapestry album is released, it would become the longest charting album by a female solo artist and sell 24 million copies worldwide, 1971

Pakistan withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations, 1972

The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary, 1975

Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner", 1982

Peter Leko of Hungary becomes the world's youngest chess grand master at age 14, 1994

Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease, 1995

Over half a million people participate in the world's largest wildlife survey after extreme cold drives exotic birds into Britain's back gardens, 2011

Peter Paul Rubens’s 1608 drawing, "Nude Study of Young Man with Raised Arms," sells for $8.2 million at auction in New York, 2019

The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at a meeting in Geneva, 2020